Taiwan’s Silenced/ Silent War on Terrorism: History, Actors, Mechanisms, Laws, and Politics

• Main Authors: Tim Kumpe, 馬添
• Other Authors: Stephan Hsu
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2019
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/2w6vev

博士 === 淡江大學 === 國際事務與戰略研究所博士班 === 107 === This thesis covers Taiwan’s history of domestic terrorism from the year 1969 to the present time. Available definitions of terrorism furnished by Taiwan’s legal counterterrorism actors provide conceptual clarity for the study of terrorism and its relationship to Taiwan for the time periods being studied within the framework of this research. Largely limited to information made publicly available by legal counterterrorism actors, based on data sets and laws and regulations, it is explained why many people of the greater public have so far been ignorant about Taiwan’s history of domestic terrorism. As suggested by the title of the thesis, Taiwan’s Silenced/Silent War on Terrorism: History, Actors, Mechanisms, Laws, and Politics, the topic of this study is contextualized in relationship to information warfare. By shedding light on the mechanisms at work, this study shows how the greater public has been systematically kept in a state of ignorance. Responsible for silencing but also in part silently revealing this information on domestic terrorism in publicly available discourse, lack and existence of data on domestic terrorism is attributed to two opposing factions, dubbed Taiwan’s pro-secrecy and pro-transparency advocates. In an answer to the question what motivates the state and its legally authorized counterterrorism actors to silently wage war on terrorism by silencing clear and lucid communication on acts of terrorism in publicly available discourse manifested through censorship on this discourse, this study identifies self-preservation as the primary motivator behind these actions. Available data sets revealing domestic terrorism suggest that victory on the battlegrounds of information warfare has so far only been achieved in part.